February was, as anticipated, pretty brutal.
Some high highs, some low lows, and very little time to sit down and write for the blog. It was to be expected but I am nonetheless surprised at just how busy I was last month and how scant postings have been.
I also missed some key acknowledgements, including but not limited to the passing of Ghostbusters Director Ivan Reitman and Sally Kellerman, M*A*S*H's Major Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner in Star Trek's 'Where No Man Has Gone Before'.
Now it's March 6th and you're getting my first post since the 1st of the month and it's, well, it's this; a rather lackluster effort if I do say so myself.
I'm feeling down. Bummed. Lacking in energy or enthusiasm. 'Burn Out' is not the right term as I am not feeling a lack of interest in RPGs, quite the contrary. Rather I'm tired - weary tired - of some of the gaming I am participating in. It's really one particular group and game but it has set off in me an overall dissatisfaction with my gaming. Again.
Not how I wanted to celebrate my 45th year Anniversary, let me tell you.
There is a possible light at the end of the tunnel but it seems more a possibility than a guarantee. One of my old groups from way back when wants to get together for a game of one of our favorite subjects. Sounds perfect right? Well after over two weeks of discussions only two of the potentially four or five players have supplied a character idea. We're supposed to be playing next weekend.
Sigh.
Online gaming is beginning to really irk me. A lack of investment among players irks me. The completely unnecessary overthinking of cowards in an adventure game really irks me.
I sit here melancholy and extremely irked.
We shall see where it goes from here...
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Barking Alien
I understand why you're irked. I've seen the same issues over the years.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell if the overhinking part is due to the players personality or if it is the result of game systems/game master differences. Probably both.
Some games are more lethal than others, so like real life you stay caurious.
I had a player saying that a fight was difficult, except nobody was hurt (he lost some Fatigue and his shield was damaged...). We were trying Chivalry & Sorcery 5. Noone lost even a signle point of Body.
I'm afraid of starting a Mythras campaign. ;p
I'm in one campaign we've been playing for roughly 5 years of real time. No PC has died because it's not really in genre for that to happen. We've been injured but always get better. We've lost NPC friends and loved ones.
DeleteAfter 5+ years you'd think people get an idea of the games conceits, no? They do whatever they can to avoid making the game interesting and challenging while insuring it moves (as my dad used to say) slower than molasses going uphill in winter.
I don't know many people who would stay in an uninteresting campaign (at least not for 5+ years). So, I sadly guess it is what they like...
ReplyDeleteThere are people who think that a challenge is mowing down hordes of mooks without any real risk for them. People who don"t like investigations. Some who are not social persons ("I fon"t care if you are the King and I'm a serf. You'll do as I say!")...
Heheh, not sure I would have described it that way but you may be on to something.
ReplyDeleteThey view investigation as hard and perhaps as a result make the mysteries even harder for themselves to solve.
I don't know for sure but it is becoming endlessly frustrating for me.
It might be possible to poach a few ideas from GUMSHOE. I've never played this game but it seems to be geared toward investigation. If it can improve players involvement during investigations, it could be useful.
DeleteAs for combat? I don't have much solutions. Maybe give bonuses or 'luck points' to players that act in an heroic manner, but it depends on your campaign (system-wise and world-wise).
But I'm not sure you are the GM. And I guess you already tried to 'lead by example'... Except by having a long talk with the other players I don't know how you can change this.
All I can say is that during the last campaign I played we had a lot of investigations. We (GM included) always tried to involve everyone. Having characters from very diverse origins helped. (A rogue, an ex-city guard, a priest & 2 nobles including an elven prince)
Sorry to be slow responding to this post. Player commitment, especially online, has been the bane of my gaming existence for years. So much so that all I really consider are one-shots that end up feeling like it is board game night.
ReplyDelete